AiVF Ground-breaking Non-invasive Pre-implantation Genetic Testing Screens Embryos to Ensure Healthy Babies

Tel Aviv – February 3, 2020 – AiVF, a startup that pairs AI with IVF, is introducing a new AI technology that reveals chromosomal abnormalities in human embryos growing in the IVF lab, without touching the embryo. This unprecedented breakthrough can help women avoid miscarriage and increase their chances of delivering a healthy baby.

AiVF analyzed an enormous dataset – more than 2,500 embryos with known chromosomal makeup – using computer vision and deep neural networks, discovering a completely new perspective on biological development. In this study, time-lapse videos of 1,500 chromosomally normal and 1,000 chromosomally abnormal embryos were evaluated. The non-invasive AI-based algorithm successfully identified abnormal embryos in 73% of cases.

“Non-invasive, AI-based testing will completely replace the commonly used biopsy-based, pre-implantation genetic testing, which is currently the only mode of testing,” says clinical embryologist and biostatistician Daniella Gilboa, CEO and co-founder of AiVF. “It ensures normal embryological development, while reducing the emotional and financial strain on the parent.”

“AI technology is being used to distinguish between euploid and aneuploid embryos by computer-vision in an objective and indirect way based on the embryo metabolic activity,” said Dr. MarcosMeseguer of IVIRMA Spain, which is part of the research study. “Our joined research reveals that euploid and aneuploid embryos are visually distinct. This non-invasive PGT system could conceivably tell us more than current invasive methods without the cost and damage to the embryo that these incur.”

Existing procedures require significant investment in both time and money. The expensive invasive testing process of pre-implantation genetic testing (PGT) requires the mother to wait an additional month for embryo transfer.

“With an ever-increasing volume of genetic and genomic information and clinical correlations that better delineate molecular mechanisms of disease and development, the need for AI to characterize this information has never been greater,” explains Dr. Lee P. Shulman, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University.

The AiVF testing occurs in real-time, with results observed second-by-second as embryos develop. If the embryos are found to be healthy, they can be transferred immediately.

AiVF’s innovative tool will increase the chances of achieving a normal pregnancy. AiVF offers a global assessment of the entire embryo while other methods are based on a limited sample of a few cells that might not be representative of the complete embryo, a problem known as mosaicism.

AiVF has the largest database in the world of embryonic development, outcomes, genetic testing, and genomic data. This is the first time a non-invasive technology based on digital evaluation of time-lapse videos demonstrated that embryos with an abnormal genotype can be identified based on their phenotype, i.e., appearance over time.

“The value of AI to help interpret cellular developmental mechanisms is best seen with its adaption for the prediction of embryonic outcomes in IVF processes,” Dr. Shulman continues. “AI assessment can provide an accurate and noninvasive evaluation of embryo quality and potential that will change our approach to IVF and improve outcomes.”

AiVF is currently developing a more advanced AI system using a multilayer 3D architecture that is expected to significantly increase sensitivity for detecting chromosomally abnormal human embryos.

This study is supported by a European Union Eureka grant and was done in collaboration with the leading IVF center – IVIRMA.

About AiVF

AiVF is at the forefront of digital embryology, delivering AI-based data-driven decision making to address the rapidly growing needs of the IVF world. The system increases accuracy and efficiency of the IVF clinics and strengthens communications by creating a common language among the clinician, patient and lab. Founded by a team of clinical fertility experts who recognized AI’s ability to streamline the IVF process, AiVF gives more women the chance to deliver a healthy child. www.aivf.co